Book Review: Dreaming for Freud by Sheila Kohler

Hey everyone! Here is another book review right on time! I’ve been pretty active recently and have been dabbling myself in different things. Some things I stick to and some things are just a fad. But writing and doing this blog has been constant for the past two years, and I’m pretty proud of that!  Anyways, this is another book I found at the Dollar Tree. Here is my review on Dreaming for Freudby Sheila Kohler. SPOILER ALERT.

A Bit of Background

 Sheila Kohleris a south African author. She received her undergraduate degree in literature r the Sorbonne, then her graduate degree in psychology at the Institute Catholique. After raising her 3 children, she moved in the U.S. in 1981 and got her MFA in writing at Columbia. Sheila published her first story in the summer of 1987, "The Mountain," which came out in, The Quarterly, and won her the O'Henry prize in 1988. This story became the first chapter of her novel, The Perfect Place.

Sheila published Dreaming for "Dreaming for Freud" in 2014. This book is about Sigmund Freud's most famous patient, which he wrote a book on, Dora: An Analysis of a Case of Hysteria. Dora's father forces her to begin treatment with Freud in the fall of 1900, due to her being ill. Dora abruptly ends her treatment after only eleven weeks , just as Freud was on the edge of a true discover. This book explores what might have happened between the two.

What Was Enjoyable

What I found enjoyable about this book and the original reason I was intrigued on reading this, was that it’s about a historical figure. Who hasn’t learned about Sigmund Freud? It’s a very interesting take on the man behind the famous dream book.

Another thing that I really enjoyed about this book were the pages. The pages are meant to look like an old journal, and anyone who enjoys books and old books will appreciate the detail of the pages.

The last thing that I have to say was that it was interesting how the author portrays Sigmund Freud. Anyone who enjoys reading about historical figures, will enjoy this take of the father of dreams and how the author makes him seem before he ever got famous.

What Was Least Enjoyable

What was least enjoyable was that I found myself a little bored at the end. And when I say the end, I mean the last two chapters.  The last two chapters take a turn and I just didn’t find myself really and truly wanting to finish them.

Another thing was that the beginning took a bit to get into. One could feel that it sort of drags on a little too long for one’s taste.

Overall

Overall, if you like Sigmund Freud or reading up on historical figures, this is the book for you. If not, you might want to skip it.

Stay tuned for my rainy thoughts next week! Until then, Happy Reading!